Kahlua!

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. It is high times in the Burdullis house this weekend. I didn't even know we had a missing part of our family. But we did. And now she's here.

As many of you know, we got a puppy this weekend. You can read about how that came to be here. Well, our introduction of Kahlua to the children did not go quite as expected. We actually ended up bringing her over to the house spontaneously on Friday afternoon. Jason was working from home yesterday because I attended a funeral in the morning, so he was able to be there for all of it.

It's funny how you create crazy expectations in your mind. We weren't able to wrap up all of the new doggie supplies as an early Santa present for the boys like I had described, since we brought Kahlua home a day early. When my brother and I arrived, I carried Kahlua downstairs to where the boys were playing. I asked if they would like to keep her, and they smiled and said yes.

Did they start jumping up and down and screaming in hysterical merriment? No. Not so much. Did they exclaim, "Thank you, thank you, Mom and Dad for letting us get a dog!" Nope. Notta. Their initial reaction was happy but not all that excited. In fact the rest of the day was kind of chaotic. Kahlua was great. But the kids could almost not handle or express their happiness and excitement about a new puppy. By the end of the day, they had all melted down.

With her Gentle Leader harness on, about to enjoy her first dinner at our house. She can eat, bark, drink and pant with it on.

Then today was better. Today it felt like our whole family really fell in love with our new dog. As if it was meant to be, we really had no plans this weekend, which is rare. This made it possible for us to simply spend the day bonding with Kahlua. I took her for a walk/run this morning. She did really well. It also gave me the chance to train her some without the kids around, which was really helpful. We have been using the Gentle Leader harness to teach her how to walk with us and it seems very effective.

Then the boys played with her outside for a long time. She fetches really well, which surprised me. And after all of that exercise and excitement, a lot of time has been spent just snuggling. She is quite a love and the kids all dote on her. Veronica gives her these very gentle, sweet, dainty hugs and kisses. Joshua loves to run around with her in the back yard and throw the ball for her.

And then there's Noah. The formation of Noah's relationship with Kahlua is already beginning to tug on my heartstrings. Noah is so shy and has been working so hard this year on his eye therapy and on being polite in social situations.

It is such a blessing to see him so naturally bond and connect with Kahlua.

If Noah has a love language, it is physical touch. He wants to snuggle, hold hands, hug and kiss all the time. His need for affection seems insatiable. I try hard to fulfill this need in him, but I just can't. Life continues and there's food to cook, dishes to wash, lessons to plan and laundry to fold. I do take breaks from life and make time to cuddle with Noah and all of my children. But the reality is that the majority of my minutes are spent working hard, not sprawled out on the couch.

So when I see Kahlua napping on the couch with Noah nuzzling into her fur, both of them in affectionate, boy's-best-friend bliss, I am actually witnessing a need of Noah's be met more fully than I can fulfill it.

I have read about how dogs love unconditionally, but I really just had no idea. Really experiencing that; witnessing your children's experience of that; watching a dog love your child the way you do and providing something for that child that you can't always--well, that's what has happened this weekend.

Our hearts and our joy have grown.

:)